To retain employees, provide access to technical training

The energy industry, in particular, can invest in training to help build knowledge and retain employees.

There are many considerations at play that make it increasingly difficult for oil and gas companies to successfully recruit and retain employees. While it’s a time of technological advances such as artificial intelligence, automation, and human-machine interaction, the smart decisions that people need to make are also core to successful business management. Offering the right technical training provides benefits to both the employees and employers involved.

According to a recent paper published by Ernst & Young, one of the key factors impacting hiring today is that the younger generations are looking for non-traditional benefits such as an opportunity to advance personal interests related to professional development.

A cultural shift to emphasizing training is a necessity

It’s important that companies make a cultural shift in order to attract and retain employees. Companies need to focus on developing knowledgeable, highly skilled workers and help them be successful in a rapidly changing world. Successful organizations realize the necessity of investing in training programs to help both new and older employees develop new skills and knowledge. The integration of digital technology dramatically impacts the skills needed to be successful in the energy sector, whether it’s an engineering role or that of an energy trader.

Oil and gas executives are already starting to adapt to this mindset. Of executives surveyed for the Ernst & Young report, 81 percent agree the industry needs to develop an educated, highly skilled workforce over the next 10 years, in contrast to a mass workforce and that training is a key component to get there.

Innovative approaches to training can help

Innovation in learning and development will make companies more competitive and successful in their markets while empowering employees to extend talents across various areas. In addition, loyal employees become more engaged and motivated and require less supervision. This improved performance creates more successful results and contributes to increased profits.

To further support the interest in professional development by employees, the energy-industry trade magazine, Rigzone, recently released its annual Ideal Employer Survey. In it, the attribute of “solid training and development programs” ranked fifth overall in a list of top 23 attributes employees are looking for in an employer, scoring 78 percent out of 100.

This result, which was decided by the 11,000+ respondents from over 100 countries, marked higher than it did last year, when the attribute ranked sixth overall.

Training programs should apply to employees at all levels of the company

When it comes to technical training and development, companies are taking not only thinking of the younger employees looking for those benefits, but also older workers who are looking to develop their own professional development strategies. A solid development plan allows employers to identify all candidates for advancement and leads to improved performance, increasing profits and trimming expenses. In total, companies are better able to retain employees and realize benefits from having provided training to increase knowledge and skill set.

Whether it’s from the perspective of the employee or employer, it’s clear that to accelerate success in today’s complex, dynamic energy industry, there needs to be a strong training component.  There are many options for conducting that training, and many energy market experts who can bring a wide array of services and products to energy professionals. Training can be outsourced to these professionals and conducted in a variety of ways, whether onsite or virtually, there are many programs available on a variety of energy topics to help get the right tools and knowledge into the hands of your employees.